VICTORA: I hope the new year brings upbeat news from you

By WENDY VICTORA / Daily News

Published: Saturday, December 29, 2012 at 04:12 PM.

In my job as the assignment editor at the Northwest Florida Daily News, I get a fair amount of calls.

I could use more.

In 2013, I hope more people call with fun or touching stories about their friends and neighbors. I want to hear more about amazing animals and interesting, quirky people.I want to hear about public servants who go above and beyond and folks who chart an unusual course through life.

Every person has a story and I want to tell as many as possible in the next 12 months.

Unfortunately, too many of the calls I get are about disputes between individuals and businesses, or employees and employers. Those are the ones I can’t do much about.

Several times a week someone calls me about a business that sold a bad car or a defective washing machine or promised a service that wasn’t delivered. Or they are angry at judges, law enforcement officers, ex-spouses or landlords, and they call the newspaper because they don’t know who else to call. They feel angry, cheated and powerless.

I understand. It seems we never outgrow our need to tell on somebody who does us wrong.

As adults, we don’t have many outlets. We can complain to our friends and family members. We can contact the Better Business Bureau, which may at some point help others from feeling our pain. We can write letters of complaint or post our grumblings on Facebook.

But despite the psychic and financial injustice of it all, I can’t help you.

In my job as the assignment editor at the Northwest Florida Daily News, I get a fair amount of calls.

I could use more.

In 2013, I hope more people call with fun or touching stories about their friends and neighbors. I want to hear more about amazing animals and interesting, quirky people.I want to hear about public servants who go above and beyond and folks who chart an unusual course through life.

Every person has a story and I want to tell as many as possible in the next 12 months.

Unfortunately, too many of the calls I get are about disputes between individuals and businesses, or employees and employers. Those are the ones I can’t do much about.

Several times a week someone calls me about a business that sold a bad car or a defective washing machine or promised a service that wasn’t delivered. Or they are angry at judges, law enforcement officers, ex-spouses or landlords, and they call the newspaper because they don’t know who else to call. They feel angry, cheated and powerless.

I understand. It seems we never outgrow our need to tell on somebody who does us wrong.

As adults, we don’t have many outlets. We can complain to our friends and family members. We can contact the Better Business Bureau, which may at some point help others from feeling our pain. We can write letters of complaint or post our grumblings on Facebook.

But despite the psychic and financial injustice of it all, I can’t help you.